Message
by Melissa Black13
Summary: Part 6 of the Romy Chronicles. Chapter 2 is up! Remy receives a surprising message from Rogue on his answering machine. Takes place during Acension. COMPLETE!
1. Rogue

**A/N:** Here's this first chapter of Part 6. There's going to be one more chapter after this.

**Disclaimer:** The characters and plotlines of X-Men Evolution unfortunately don't belong to moi. Also, this idea of chronicling certain events in a characters' life doesn't belong to me either. Full credit goes to Deandra who writes awesome Lord of the Rings stories. I got this idea from her and I suggest you go read her stuff.

**Summary: **Rogue makes an interesting phone call as she and the X-Men prepare to fight Apocalypse.

The Romy Chronicles

Part 6: Message- Rogue

"Kay, you got that, Stripes?" Logan asked her gruffly. Rogue blinked, her head spinning with the magnitude of what she had to do. Logan sighed. "Come on, kid, we're all hurtin' here, but we gotta job to do. Pull it together," he said, trying to be gentle.

Rogue nodded briskly. "Ah got it. Ah know what I have tah do."

Logan nodded his satisfaction and patted her on the shoulder. "Good girl. Now, I gotta go talk to Fury for a sec, then you, him, and Cannonball are headin' out," he told her. Rogue nodded again and Logan left, leaving her alone in the tech room.

Taking a deep breath, Rogue mentally prepared herself. This is what she had been waiting for: a chance to redeem herself, to make amends for what she had done, unwillingly or not. She was the one that had brought about Apocalypse and she was going to be the one to put him away. For good.

The door to the tech room slid open, admitting Scott and Jean inside. The distress on Jean's beautiful face would usually make Rogue slightly smug, but that wasn't so today. Instead, Rogue felt only sadness for her. Everyone knew how close she and the Professor were. To see him like that must have been…

"Hey Rogue," Scott greeted, and Rogue noted that she didn't feel any of the usual butterflies she used to feel when Scott was around. "So, are you ready for your mission?" he asked, getting right down to business.

Rogue shrugged. "As ready as Ah'll ever be," she stated truthfully. "What're ya'll doin' here?"

"We're going to try calling in some back up," Jean answered, sitting down at one of the room's phones. Scott took a place in front of one of the other ones.

"Who're yah thinkin' of callin'?" Rogue asked, coming to stand behind the two of them.

"We're not sure," Jean said, biting her lip. "We thought we'd start with Colossus. He seemed like an okay guy. Hopefully he'll be willing to help us out."

"And then we thought maybe Pyro," Scott added, albeit hesitantly. "He was helpful enough last time, if lighting everything on fire is helpful."

"What about Angel?" Rogue asked. "Ah'm sure he'll want tah lend a hand."

"Yeah, he's on our list," Scott told her, taking out a folded piece of paper from his pocket. "Next is Gambit, though that's—."

"Gambit?" Rogue asked, a bit startled. She hadn't thought about the Cajun card shark for a couple of weeks now and was surprised to hear his name come up. "Do yah really think he'll help us?"

"We've got to try everyone we can, Rogue," Jean reasoned, using the computer to pull up phone numbers. "Okay, we should get started."

"Ya'll need any help?" Rogue inquired suddenly, not really sure where the offer came from. "Ah mean, Logan's probably gonna be a while and Ah need somethin' tah do tah keep mahself occupied."

Both Scott and Jean seemed pleased with her offer and Rogue sat down at another console.

"Alright, Jean you take Colossus, I'll take Pyro, and Rogue, you can call Warren," Scott said, already beginning to look for Pyro's number in the computer.

Rogue set to work on calling Angel, pulling up his number and dialing it carefully. He picked up after two rings and when Rogue told him why she was calling, he confessed that he had been waiting for the X-Men's call. The conversation ended quickly with Angel informing her that he was on his way. Rogue hung up at the same time as Scott, with Jean hanging up soon after.

"Reports?" Scott asked.

"Colossus agreed to help, so we're going to have to swing by Russia and pick him up," Jean said.

"Sounds good. Rogue?"

"Angel's on his way now," she told him. "He should be here in the next 15 tah 20 minutes he said."

"Great. Well, Pyro didn't pick up at the number listed here, so we're out of luck there. Okay, Jean, you call Gambit, I'll take—."

"Maybe, Ah should take Gambit," Rogue cut in. Both Scott and Jean turned to her, Scott frowning and Jean with both her eyebrows raised in question. "Well, Ah do know him slightly better than the two of yah," she pointed out.

"I don't think that's such a good idea," Scott said slowly, looking uneasy.

"No, Scott, she's right," Jean contradicted. "Rogue has had more experience with Gambit, she should call him. Maybe she can persuade him to help us."

Scott looked a bit put out at being overruled by his own girlfriend but conceded to defeat. "Alright, Rogue, you call Gambit, Jean call Tabitha, and I'll call my brother," he said, and with no need of the computer dialed Alex's number.

Rogue timidly called up Gambit's number on her console. She was suddenly hit with a wave of apprehension. Why had she volunteered for this again? She didn't want to speak to Gambit! Did she? _Well, it's too late now if Ah don't,_ she thought as her fingers depressed the buttons on the phone. _Please don't be home_, she thought desperately. _Please_. The phone rang once, then twice, a third time and then finally went straight to the answering machine. _Should Ah leave him a message?_ Rogue asked herself.

"Y've reached Remy," Gambit's voice said on the recording. "Leave a message at de beep, _mes_ _amis_."

Beep! The machine sounded. Rogue was silent for a couple seconds, unsure if she should hang up, before she decided the hell with it, and she started speaking. "Umm, hey, Gambit. This is Rogue…from the X-Men…Listen, we were, well, we're goin' tah fahght Apocalypse," Rogue said, mentally kicking herself for sounding so lame. "And well, we could kinda use some backup. If yah feel lahke givin' us a hand, we could really use yoah help." Rogue decided she sounded way too desperate and quickly gave him the number to the Institute. "Well, um, bye Gambit," she finished, and hastily hung up the phone.

Jean and Scott were already done with their calls and were talking animatedly until Scott noticed Rogue was off the phone. "Well? Any luck?" he asked her.

She shook her head. "Ah left the Institute's number on his answerin' machine, though Ah doubt he'll call back."

"It's the best we can do at this point, Rogue," Jean told her. "If Gambit doesn't want to help us, that's his prerogative."

Rogue nodded mutely. Jean was right. If Gambit called back, well, good on him. If he didn't it was his choice and Rogue didn't have any reason to dwell on it. She sighed knowing it was time to get back to work. "Okay, who's next—?"

She was interrupted suddenly by the door sliding open again. Logan came back into the room, Fury trailing behind him. "Ready, Rogue?" Wolverine asked. His confidence in her was clear by the look in his steely eyes and Rogue felt heartened by it. She nodded, standing up. The two men exited the room as quickly as they had entered and Rogue made to follow when Scott's voice stopped her.

"Thanks for the help, Rogue," Scott said, looking at her strangely. Rogue wasn't sure what was wrong with him until she realized how high the stakes were here. Who knew if they would survive the upcoming battle?

"Yah're welcome," Rogue told him, for lack of anything else to say. With no time left for a long good-bye Rogue looked both of them in the eye. "Good luck you two."

"You too, Rogue," Scott said, as Jean chipped in with "Good luck, Rogue."

She gave them a small nod, a focused and determined look settling on her face, before turning and tracing Logan and Fury's steps. Rogue was uncertain about the mission ahead, but if she knew one thing it was that she needed all the luck she could get. Alone in the hallway, her hand strayed to her back pocket where a simple playing card was unconsciously tucked inside. Maybe Gambit was helping out after all.

* * *

**A/N: **I'm soooo happy you guys liked Part 5! Thanks for all of your reviews!! It was sort of a spur of the moment thing. This Part 6 is also kind of spontaneous. It's not the part that I thought I was going to post next. It's the first chapter of a 2 chapter part, if that makes any sense. Next chapter, which I hope to post soon, is going to be in Gambit's POV which is something I haven't done in a while. Anyway, I hope you all like this. Please review!

Melissa


	2. Remy

**A/N:** Tada! Here's the second chapter of Part 6. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** The characters and plotlines of X-Men Evolution unfortunately don't belong to moi. Also, this idea of chronicling certain events in a characters' life doesn't belong to me either. Full credit goes to Deandra who writes awesome Lord of the Rings stories. I got this idea from her and I suggest you go read her stuff.

**Summary:** Remy gets a surprising message from Rogue on his answering machine.

The Romy Chronicles

Part 6: Message- Remy

_Brrring! Brrrring! _

His phone was ringing again, for what Remy was sure was the millionth time that day. And, once again, for the millionth time that day, he let the call go to his answering machine.

"Y've reached Remy," his own smooth voice said. "Leave a message at de beep, _mes_ _amis_."

Remy stared at his own reflection in his living room mirror as the answering machine beeped. A silky feminine voice filled the room and Remy stifled a groan. It was her 5th time calling that day. You'd think that by now she would get the hint.

"Remy, _cher_?" the voice asked gently. "Why haven' y' returned any of m' phone calls, Remy? Is somet'ing de matter? Y' can talk t' me, _cher_, about anyt'ing, y' know dat." The girl's voice was gentle but she suddenly adopted a more aggressive tone. Remy grimaced at her change in tone. "Y' better be dere today, Remy. If y' leave me at de altar…y' won't live long t' regret it."

Remy winced as the woman hung up abruptly. He supposed it was his fault for not answering any of her calls. He just couldn't deal with her at the moment though. Remy fingered the tight collar of his tuxedo, tempted to take the darn thing off. He knew though, that if he took it off now, he wouldn't be able to get himself to put it back on. And then he'd be dead because Belladonna would murder him, quite literally in fact. Refusing to marry the daughter of the head of the Assassin's Guild would have such drastic consequences as this.

As Remy dwelled on the fact that his life was basically over, no matter what path he chose, he heard a knock at his apartment door. Though he was tempted to just leave the person standing outside in the hall, he made his way over to the door, unlocked the deadbolt, and opened it. His brother Henri stood there looking almost as uncomfortable as Remy felt, clad in his own tuxedo.

"Henri," Remy acknowledged, going back to stand in front of the mirror again. His hands wouldn't stay still, from fixing his crooked tie, to brushing off non-existent lint from his tuxedo jacket.

Henri closed the door behind himself and Remy could feel his brother studying him. "Y' seem a bit nervous, p'tite frére," Henri observed, relaxing back on to one of Remy's couches.

"Well 's not ev'ry day Remy gets married," Remy reminded him sarcastically.

"M' sensin' some bitterness, here," Henri commented, watching Remy amusedly.

Remy shot his brother a murderous look, his red-black eyes gleaming. "Cut de crap, Henri. Y' know I don' wanna marry Belladonna."

"Oui, I know," Henri said, sobering up. "But when has pére ever had y'r best int'rests in mind?"

Remy snorted. "Never."

The two were silent for a moment before the quiet was broken by the shrill ringing of the phone once again. This time, Remy didn't even try to stifle his groan. When he made no move to answer it, Henri gave him a questioning look.

"Y' gonna get dat or what?" he asked.

"Non, cause I know it'll be Belle, or pére, or someone else callin' t' talk t' me about de weddin'," Remy explained, as the phone rang for the third time. "'s better jus' t' let de answerin' machine get it."

As he finished speaking his voice recording sounded across the room. "Y've reached Remy. Leave a message at de beep, _mes_ _amis_."

The machine beeped and another female's voice filled the room after a few seconds. The shock of who it was made Remy do a double take at the answering machine. _Non, it couldn't be…_

"Um, hey, Gambit," the sweet Southern voice said, sounding hesitant. "This is Rogue…from the X-Men." _As if Remy could ev'r f'rget y', chere, _he thought, wryly. "Listen, we were, well, we're goin' to fahght Apocalypse," Rogue stammered out, and Remy grinned knowing she felt awkward calling him. It was kind of endearing. "And well, we could kinda use some backup. If yah feel lahke givin' us a hand, we could really use yoah help," she said, and Remy felt himself being involuntarily persuaded. Rogue paused for a moment, before giving him the Institute's number hastily. With apparently nothing else to say she she said, "Well, um, bye, Gambit," and Remy heard a click which meant she had hung up.

For a second, Remy stood there, stunned, eyes piercing the answering machine as if he could see Rogue through it. He had never expected to hear from Rogue again after what he'd put her through trying to rescue Jean-Luc. Sure they had parted on good terms at the time but Remy knew that she was still angry and mistrustful of him. Yet, here she was calling him, asking for his help. Well now…who was he to refuse?

"Who was dat?" Henri asked curiously, eyes darting between the answering machine and his brother's stunned face.

"Dat was Rogue," Remy answered automatically, his feet seemingly glued to the floor.

"I kinda guessed dat one m'self," Henri said dryly.

"She's de one dat helped me get pére from Marius," Remy clarified distractedly. The sound of Rogue's voice filled his thoughts. Suddenly, he knew what he had to do. He started towards his bedroom swiftly.

"Remy?" Henri called after him uncertainly. "Frére, what're y' doin'?" he asked, getting up off the couch and following Remy into his room. He stood in the doorway and watched his brother rummage through his messy closet. When he didn't answer, Henri started to get nervous. "Remy."

"What's it look like 'm doin', Henri?" Remy asked exasperatedly, finally finding what he was looking for. It was his Acolyte uniform. He threw it on his bed. "'m gonna help dem."

Henri blinked and looked at his brother in disbelief. "I t'ink y' forgettin' somet'ing, Remy."

"_Oui_? An' what's dat?"

"Y're gettin' married in 2 hours!" Henri all but yelled, gesturing towards the clock. He wondered where his brother's brain had gone in the short span of time since Rogue had called.

Remy, who had been searching under a pile of dirty clothes for his bo staff, froze suddenly. Somehow, the moment he heard Rogue's voice, he had completely forgotten the fact that he was supposed to be getting married later that day. But surely the fact that he had to help a group of teenage mutant superheroes stop an ancient psycho mutant intent on taking over the planet trumped getting married. Didn't it? Remy sighed. He didn't think Bella would see it exactly the same way.

Abandoning his search, Remy sat down on his bed, hands running through his hair anxiously. His father would never let him put the wedding on hold, no matter who or what was trying to take over the world. According to Jean-Luc, the marriage between the two feuding families was the most important thing right now. Remy had been against it from the beginning though. He knew it would never settle anything; the two families would always hate each other. Plus, he was way too young to be tied down. He was only 20 for Christ's sake! But nevertheless Remy had agreed to it. The Guild was his family, no matter how much they didn't act like it sometimes, and he was obligated to help them.

At the moment though, all he wanted to do was go help Rogue and the X-Men. He had been there when Apocalypse had been unleashed; he knew what they were up against. Also, they would never expect it. One of Magneto's Acolytes, the one who had kidnapped their Southern Belle teammate, help them? It was almost unthinkable and was certainly unpredictable. And Remy had to admit, he loved to be unpredictable.

"Don' t'ink I don' see de wheels turnin' in y'r head, Remy," Henri warned, startling Remy out of his thoughts. "Y' can' call off de weddin'. Pére would disown y', Marius would kill y' and dere's no tellin' what Belladonna would do! She's one crazy femme," he added, only joking a little.

Remy let out a deep breath. Henri was right. No matter how much he didn't want it to happen, he was getting married. Besides, when did he become such a do-gooder? Help the X-Men? There was no sense in it. He would always be the enemy to them no matter what he did. They would never be able to work together to defeat Apocalypse, it was as simple as that. It was probably better if Remy just stayed out of it.

He almost had himself convinced, until Rogue's face popped up in his mind. Remy couldn't help but feel guilty about using her before and now refusing to help her. Try as he might, Remy couldn't deny the connection between him and Rogue. He had never met someone he had so much in common with, someone who had a past that was just as messed up as his. How could he abandon her now?

Henri, who was still standing in Remy's doorway, studied his brother's facial expressions interestedly. "Y' like dis girl, dontcha?" he asked slowly, as realization dawned on him. "Dat's de reason y' wanna help dese X-Men."

"Non,'s not like dat," Remy told him firmly.

Henri nodded. "_Oui_, I t'ink it is like dat," he contradicted. "Frére," Remy warned, but Henri ignored him. He groaned agitatedly, giving his brother a hard look. "_Mon dieu_, Remy, why can' y' t'ink wit' y'r brain 'stead of y'r—,"

"'m plenty serious, Henri," Remy said, standing up, his hands clenched into fists. "Y' better hush up or—,"

"Or what, Remy?" Y' gonna hit y're own broder ov'r some _fille_?" Henri asked, incredulously. He scoffed at him, shaking his head. "Y're in deeper den I t'ought, _homme_."

Remy felt his anger drain away instantly. Was Henri right? Did he like Rogue? When had Remy ever been self-conscious about women? Never. So, why was he so defensive about Rogue? _Rogue's diff'rent_, a little voice in the back of his head whispered. Remy shut his eyes tightly, trying to block it out. He got up off his bed and pushed past Henri to go back into the living room.

"It don' matter anymore," he muttered to Henri, who had followed him back into the room. Remy frowned, looking at his reflection in the mirror once more. His tie was crooked again and his hair was all mussed, but other than that he was the picture perfect groom. He locked eyes with his brother in the mirror. "Jus' drop it, oui?"

Henri shrugged. "Have it y'r way, frére. Now," he said, changing the subject quickly. He glanced at his clock and noted the time. "'s 3 o'clock. We're supposed t' be at de church f'r 3:30."

Remy nodded and broke into a forced grin. "Well den, let's go get dis Cajun married," he said. He knew his voice sounded false and strained but he could care less. If he was going to do this, he was going out with style. He fixed his hair back into place and straightened out his tie. "Y' got de rings, mon frére?" he asked Henri, who was naturally his best man.

Henri patted his tuxedo pocket. "Got dem right here."

"Right, den." Remy looked around his apartment to make sure he hadn't forgotten anything. When his red-black eyes reached the answering machine, he looked away hurriedly. "Remy t'inks we're all set."

"'kay, le's go den. We don' wanna be late," Henri said, leading the way out of the apartment.

Remy stopped to look the door and, as if they had a mind of their own, his eyes glanced back to the answering machine. '_M sorry, Rogue_, was his last thought before he shut the door behind him.

A/N: Well? You like? If so, please review! I've loved everyone's reviews since I've gotten back into the swing of things. Also, if you really have nothing to say but you read the story and you liked it just click on the button and let me know! You could put one word for all I care. You could be like "Read" meaning you've read it. I just want to know how many people out there are reading my chronicles besides my wonderful reviewers. I'd also like to thanks the people how have added me to their favorite author list and author alert list! You don't know how happy that makes me to know that people like my stories. Anyway, please review! I'm not exactly sure when I'll have Part 7 up, but never fear, it will come! Thanks bunches for reading!

Melissa


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